Sandpoint staff previews wide-ranging historic preservation ordinance and tighter downtown zoning
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Summary
City staff presented a draft historic preservation ordinance and revised downtown commercial zoning that would create an overlay district, require certificates of appropriateness for exterior changes and could impose review timelines of up to six months; staff asked the commission to read the posted draft and said he will seek council guidance before proceeding.
SANPOINT, Idaho — City staff presented a detailed draft of a historic preservation ordinance and a tighter downtown commercial-A zoning map at the San Juan Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation Commission meeting on Feb. 5, urging commissioners to read the posted materials and prepare policy questions ahead of the next meeting.
Bill Dean, the commission’s staff liaison, said the draft takes a 'maximal' preservation approach, modeled in part on Boise and Caldwell, and uses an overlay zoning district tied to the ACHP master plan to codify existing boundaries. 'We’re just gonna go all in,' Dean said, describing the choice to start with comprehensive protections and then pare back if necessary.
Why it matters: The ordinance would require property owners in the district to obtain a certificate of appropriateness — the industry-standard permit for exterior changes — before altering building exteriors. Dean warned that state law and typical procedures mean some alterations could trigger review timelines 'up to six months,' a delay intended to give the commission and staff time to evaluate work against Secretary of the Interior standards and local design rules.
The draft also asks the commission to consider whether a continuous historic district or individually listed landmarks is the better way to protect outlying resources. Dean said that, for simplicity and consistency, his recommendation is to amend the district boundaries to include several 'islands at risk' rather than adopt numerous separate landmark listings.
Commissioners probed implications for local projects. Dean said murals, public sculptures and even new street lights could require review under the proposed definitions if they are considered exterior alterations. 'Even though the sculpture is something that's near and dear and it's been programmed and processed, if this ordinance were in place, that sculpture itself would have to come before this commission and receive a certificate of appropriateness,' he said.
Next steps: Dean told the commission he plans a brief check-in with city council for direction before doing further draft work. He asked commissioners to read the posted ordinance and related Secretary of the Interior guidance in advance of a 'page-turn' walkthrough at the next meeting. Dean also said he will meet with affected property owners and help the commission identify the key policy thresholds — for example, which changes should be handled at staff level versus those that should come before the commission.
What was not decided: No formal action or vote on the ordinance occurred at the meeting. Commissioners did not set final boundaries or adopt thresholds; Dean framed the ordinance as a draft for the commission to study and to refine before formal recommendations to the Planning and Zoning Commission and city council.
Authorities and references in the discussion included 'state law' as cited by staff and the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation and design review; Dean said his draft is posted for review and that he will bring a focused table to the commission identifying which alterations should be staff-level approvals and which should require commission review.
The commission is expected to return to the ordinance at its next meeting after members have had time to read the draft and discuss specific provisions.
